Always
by SpeakWhenItRains
Summary: Post-Trigon arc. Raven's curling into herself again, Robin's worried. He checks up on her because that's what leaders are supposed to do... Right? RavenxRobin fluff


_It's not like you to get this worried._

The thought entered his head as his foot met the floor of the rooftop. As he looked to his right, following that magnet-like intuition, he spotted her meditating on the roof's edge. The sun was setting, the yellows and oranges beautifully contrasting the indigo coloring of her cloak. The fabric was hanging down, draping around the rooftop and folding over itself slightly. The knot in between Robin's chest and stomach clenched; it wasn't like her to be messy like that. She always kept her cloak off the ground.

_Ah. So now I'm admitting I watch her meditate?_

He found himself looking away, glaring down to mutter how it was only one time. But even then he knew he was lying. About her. Again.

_Keep your head together, Robin. Why'd you come up here?_

He looked back to her, suddenly guilty that he had forgotten. For even a second. What team leader would do _that? _A bad one, he supposed. But that's why he was up here, right? Trying to look after his comrades, trying to better himself. Part of him just wished it didn't have to be Raven he was walking over to talk to.

Memories flashed into his conscious; ghosts of ideas that shot emotions into him. Feelings that had been at the edge of discovery since the beginning, ones that had come to surface at the end. Or maybe just at Raven's end, with her father, with Trigon. Augh, he needed to focus; he couldn't let these thoughts pop up now.

"You need something?" Raven's dry voice cut through his thoughts, perking Robin's attention.

Noticing he had been absent-mindedly toying with the fingers of his gloves, he quickly lowered his hands. "Uh, no. Ah, wait, well yeah. I-I guess." He hovered a fist against his mouth, coughing to clear his throat. Slipping back into his leader persona, he found himself squinting slightly. Focusing on her a bit more. "I just wanted to see if you're okay."

"Always." Despite the fact there was nothing but flat monotone, Robin sensed something else beneath her words. Humor? Was she referring to her emotions or his own habit of caring?

"So... Are you alright?" Robin asked.

He saw her head move slightly, barely a turn towards him. "What made you think otherwise?"

"Well, this." He extended a hand to her. "You've been acting like your old self." He kept his mouth shut, silencing the other words he wanted to say. Like how she was doing so well lately, how she was meditating less frequently because she _just didn't have to anymore_. And then she started to withdraw again. And he was worried.

Raven was quiet, her silence lasting a little longer than Robin's string of thoughts. Almost as if she was listening to them. Then she spoke.

"It's... comforting, to go back to normal. I've never... experienced things like you have, Robin. Emotions completely unrestrained. You don't have to think or catch yourself before you feel something too strong and hurt someone." She quieted, and for a second, Robin thought he understood what she meant. A feeling touched his chest, glowing warmth flashing through. "It's taking time to get used to."

Robin nodded, taking in what she had said. The glimpse of warmth had been forgotten, every part of his mind focused on facts. What he was hearing. But he still had questions.

He waited a moment, trying to make it seem like it wasn't as big of a deal as he felt. Like his level of caring was only reaching the level it was supposed to. "Is there anything I can do?"

Raven shook her head. "It just takes time." she said, and at that, Robin nodded.

His foot slid back, starting to turn him around and away before Raven's voice stopped him.

"Robin?"

Surprised, he looked back, waiting for her to continue.

"Thanks."

No matter how much willpower he had, Robin would never be able to hold back the smile that came to his face. It was slight, more than a half-raise of one side, but he felt the volumes spoken in that gesture. He wasn't able to control it anymore; the birdcage was open.

"Always." he said.

He turned around again, sensing somehow deep in his chest that she was smiling also. But what he didn't know was that her head had also bent slightly, casting the shadow of her hood low enough to hide the blush running along her cheeks.

As Robin made his way back to the staircase, the sun finished its descent. Night began to touch their surroundings, and Robin felt a swelling in his chest. He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder, to call back and let her know it would be cold tonight. But he let the urge pass, descending back down to the tower warmer than he had ever felt.

* * *

_First. Fanfiction. EVER. Wow, feels so weird to do! I was an avid reader of Fanfiction (mainly TT) back when I was like eight, started up again maybe a year ago because I was going crazy trying to find one very specific piece (never found it, but discovered some heart-breakingly beautiful works instead!) I dabbled in writing some, but never finished. Something told me to start writing about an hour ago, and well here's the result! I'll probably go back and edit, clean some stuff up, but in the mean time, feedback is appreciated!_

_thanks for reading x_

Edit: Cleaned up the little typos I saw. Leaving this piece alone & working on another! :)


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